Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

गुरुरुवाच । नरेषु कोऽधमः शिष्य जन्मादिमरणेऽधम । कथं न पितरं स्तौषि म्रियमाणो हरिं हरिम्

Transliteration

gururuvāca | nareṣu ko'dhamaḥ śiṣya janmādimaraṇe'dhama | kathaṃ na pitaraṃ stauṣi mriyamāṇo hariṃ harim

Translation

Der Guru sprach: «Unter den Menschen, wer ist ‘niedrig’, o Schüler—wenn Geburt und Tod selbst niedrig sind? Wie kommt es, dass du im Sterben den Vater nicht preist—Hari, Hari?»

Word by Word

• गुरुः: the teacher
• गुरुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• नरेषु: among men
• नरेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• कः: who?
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; interrogative pronoun

• अधमः: lowest
• अधमः: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate adjective

• शिष्य: O disciple
• शिष्य: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• जन्मादिमरणे: in birth and death (etc.)
• जन्मादिमरणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘जन्म-आदि’ (आदि-समास) + मरण; sense: ‘in birth etc. and in death’ (contextual)

• अधम: O low one
• अधम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; vocative used as reproach

• कथम्: how?
• कथम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नाव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• पितरम्: father
• पितरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• स्तौषि: you praise
• स्तौषि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्तु (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• म्रियमाणः: dying
• म्रियमाणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृ (धातु) → म्रियमाण (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agreeing with implied त्वम्

• हरिम्: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• हरिम्: Hari
• हरिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (repetition for emphasis)

Speaker

Guru

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiṣya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A guru addresses a disciple beside a dying person, declaring that birth-death are the real baseness and urging ‘Hari, Hari’ as the final praise.

Characters & Entities

• Guru
• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Pitṛ (father)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The guru redirects the mind from judging others to remembering Hari—especially at the moment of death, when divine remembrance is supreme.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is situated in the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra-māhātmya (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa), where such teachings are linked to the sanctifying power of the sacred place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit prescription: nāma-smaraṇa/stuti of Hari at death (“Hari, Hari”).